Chile's LATAM Airlines has been fined $11,700 by a New Zealand court after it went against official instructions and allowed a Syrian man to board a flight to Auckland.
The airline, formerly Lan Chile, was fined in Manukau District Court today for failing to comply with its obligations under the Immigration Act.
The charge arose out of a case in November 2015 where a Syrian man checked in for the Santiago-Auckland flight using a Brazilian passport for foreigners and the check-in agent incorrectly entered his nationality as Brazilian.
Despite an email and phone call from Immigration New Zealand, the man was allowed to board the flight. He was removed from the country the day he arrived.
Immigration NZ's Senta Jehle says it is the third time LATAM has been prosecuted for not meeting its requirements. The airline was also issued with 590 infringement notices in the five years to May 2107, she said.
"In this case the airline completely ignored the instruction from INZ not to board the passenger and we were left with no alternative but to take prosecution action."
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